Lewis factor gives Hamed new strength

Lennox Lewis can claim a slice of the credit if Naseem Hamed makes a successful comeback at the London Arena tomorrow.

When Hamed makes his trademark somersault over the ropes to face former European featherweight champion Manuel Calvo, it will mark the 28-year-old's first public appearance in the ring since he lost his 35-fight unbeaten record to Marco Antonio Barrera 13 months ago.

That defeat was a humbling experience. Indeed, it might have broken the spirit of a lesser fighter.

But Hamed has revealed how he drew inspiration from the manner in which Lewis bounced back to avenge his two heavyweight title losses to Oliver McCall in 1994 and Hasim Rahman last year.

Hamed, who made 15 successful defences of the World Boxing Organisation's world featherweight title, insisted: "A guy with the right frame of mind can turn a blip into a positive thing. Lennox Lewis did it. He got knocked out the first time against McCall, then he got knocked out by Rahman. But he came back. All the legends have done it; Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard. After they got beat the first time they came back, and that is what helped make them legends. What I am saying is that it is not always a negative thing."

Hamed appears to have learned a valuable lesson from having the Mexican, Barrera, expose his mental and technical weaknesses. "He forced that and made it happen," said Hamed. "He was in charge and credit was due to him. But this time things have to change. I haven't trained for five months for nothing.

"This time you will see a very, very sharp, very accurate, very controlled guy. A guy with a lot of flair and a lot of confidence. A guy who is basically going to rise to the occasion and not show just 30 per cent of his ability.

"This time he'll show 100 per cent, and he'll prove he can pull it out of the bag whenever he wants. I know exactly what I did wrong against Barrera. A lot of it was about what I had set my mind on doing in that fight - I usually leave room in my mind for adjustments but that night I didn't leave any room. I'll never set my mind like that again. This time, mentally, I'm very, very strong."